Textile spindle whorl retainer latches



Oct. 20, 1964 J. w. HAMMOND TEXTILE SPINDLE WHORL RETAINER LATCHES Filed Feb. 13, 1963 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,153,313 TEXTILE SPINDLE WHORL RETAINER LATCHES James W. Hammond, Mentor, Ohio, assignor to Curtiss- Wright Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 258,335 4 Claims. (Cl. 57-132) Textile spindle whorl retainer latches are required prin cipally to prevent spindle blade and whorl assemblies which operatingly are integral from being lifted unlimitedly out of their supports or bolster cases during dofiing operations or while the loaded bobbins are being lifted ofi the blade assemblies. Since the bobbins telescope the upper blade portions for considerable distances they tend unpredictably to adhere to the blade surfaces with sufiicient force so that in the absence of provision of whorl retainers important damage can be done to the normally concealed footstep-engaging portions of the blade; and if the blade assembly is dropped back into place in the bolster unrestrainedly important damage can be done to the lower end of the blade and its associated footstep bearing. The same damage can of course result during original careless installation of the blade assembly into the bolster case.

Whorl retainer latches have been designed so that unless purposely moved out of the way of the whorl, the retainers or latches will stop the descent of the blade assemblies a short distance from their final position. Whorl retainers or latches with provision for so stopping the downward movement of the blade assemblies (plunger type latches) have been almost prohibitively expensive in construction and they have had no provision for preventing their being purposely withdrawn from whorl-blocking position. So far as I know none of the heretofore used pivoted types of whorl retainers or latches have served the important function of stopping the blade assembly in a somewhat raised position or sufiiciently to protect the blade shaft and footstep bearing against damage during careless installation of the blade assembly. The present invention enables a very simple and inexpensive pivoted latch construction to serve the above indicated desirable functions in a simple but effectual manner.

Objects and features of the present invention not indicated above will become apparent from the following description of a preferred or suitable form. The essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawing FIG. 1 is a fragmentary partly central sectional view through a typical spindle bolster assembly showing the improved latch mechanism hereof in a normal or Working position.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational View taken at right angles to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the latch member hereof in position to stop the blade assembly in a safe position above its final position during installation of the blade assembly into its bolster.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the latch hereof in whorl-releasing position.

The bolster assembly A as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a tubular body 1 threaded at 2 for reception of the usual mounting nut assembly, not shown, and an integral flange assembly 4 including a flange member 5, assembly 4 being integral with the body 1 adjacent an overhanging shoulder 6 of a collar portion '7 of the bolster case. The collar portion 7 contains, as diagrammatically shown, a roller bearing assembly 8. A suitable footstep diagrammatically shown at 10 is contained in a lower portion of body 1.

The illustrated blade assembly B is of the composite type having a whorl 12 with lower and upper flanges 13 and 13 respectively, a shaft portion 14, and a bobbinsupporting blade portion 15. The lower end of the blade 'ice shaft 14, as diagrammatically shown, has a tapered footstep-engaging portion 16 seated in a conical socket 17 of the footstep 10. The blade shaft 14 can be slid easily out of its position in the bolster case A, as is usual.

The whorl retainer or latch mechanism hereof as shown includes an already known form of bifurcated bracket member or portion 20 integral with the top flange portion 5 of the bolster case. Bracket 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a pair of generally cylindrical head portions 21 curled from the sheet metal from which the flange member 5 is formed, thus providing aligned openings tightly receiving a pivot pin 22. The head portions 21 define a region 26 of the bracket 20 forming part of a releasable abutment connection D between the latch member 30 (hereinafter for convenience latch) and the bracket, such as will normally prevent unlimited pivotal movement of the latch in both angular directions.

The latch 30 hereof may be made in one piece in one operation as in metal stamping technique although it can of course be otherwise manufactured. As shown the body portion 31 of the latch 30 is of more or less rectangular flat form and has a depending extension 32 of any suitable shape to provide a manipulator or handle. The body portion 31 has, in the normal position of the latch 30 as in FIG. 1, a floating pivotal connection C formed, as shown, by a vertical slot 33 loosely embracing the pivot pin 22. The pivot pin is preferably of spirally laminated form as in the well known fastener device sold under the trade mark Spirol, force fitted into the bracket portions 21. The slot 33 preferably has free working clearance around the pin in all possible positions of the latch. When the pin 22 is occupying the upper end of the slot 33, opposed abutment surfaces 30b and 30c in a downwardly open slot through the latch loosely embrace marginal portions of the region 26 of the bracket 20, thus constituting the releasable connection D. The slot 33 is of more than sufficient length (FIG. 1) to enable complete detachment of the abutment connection D when the latch 36 is lifted bodily as by upward force of an attendants finger on the manipulator 32 (see FIG. 4). The slot 33 need not extend parallel to the blade assembly axis as shown, but it must extend in the same general direction as do the elements of the releasable abutment connection D. Also the positions of slot 33 and pivot pin 22 in the associated parts could be reversed (slot in bracket 23 and pin 22 tight in latch 30) A latch arm portion 36 of latch 30 extends normally a suificient distance toward the spindle axis to overlie the lower whorl flange 13 and above the latch arm 36 to the body 31 is cutback generally parallel to the slot 33 to provide a secondary whorl-abutment portion 37 whose operation will be more or less apparent from inspection of FIG. 4 and will be further explained.

With the whorl l2 and the latch 33 in their relative position shown in FIG. 1, the lower whorl flange 13 will, if the blade assembly is lifted as in doffing, move the lower end portion of the slot 33 into abutment with the pivot pin 22; but no further upward movement of the blade assembly can take place because the abutment 300 in cooperation with the bracket 20 resists clockwise pivoting of the latch 30 out of whorl-retaining position. If however the latch 33 is swung upwardly and toward the spindle axis as by the attendant (see FIG. 4) the flange 13 then clears the latch arm 36 and, subsequently, by abutment with the latch portion 37 swings the latch out of the way of the whorl to enable complete removal of the blade assembly. In the releasing position of the latch 39, FIG. 4, the abutment connection D is rendered inoperative as will be evident.

After removal of the blade assembly B from the bolster case and release of the handle 32 by the attendant the latch 30, in the absence of frictional restraint, drops by gravity into the position illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus if the blade assembly is dropped into the bolster case the bottom of the whorl flange l3 abuts the top of the latch arm 36 until the attendant again moves the latch 36 counterclockwise or to its rotated position as shown in FIG. 4. If, while the blade assembly B is being (e.g.) dropped into the bolster case the attendant purposely holds the latch 3%? in a whorl-releasing position (e.g., as in FIG. 4) then either the abutment portion 37 or the latch arm 36 will stop the blade assembly near its final or installed position (note whorl flange position 13x FIG. 4) and prevent the damage earlier discussed herein from occurring.

As will be evident from inspection of FIG. 1 the latch 30 has sufiicient mass rightwardly from the axis of the pivot 22 so that when it is released by the attendant from its tripped or whorl-freeing position, FIG. 4, the latch tends to drop back to its normal or latching position. If there is some restraint (e.g., due to accumulation of lint and fly) the attendant will of course replace the latch into its working position. Similarly if, for example in order to prevent rattling of the latch in service, clearance between the slot 33 and pivot pin 22 as well as between the two sides of the latch 30 as viewed in FIG. 2 and the head portions 21 of the bracket 26 are reduced to a minimum, then all the necessary latch positioning operations would be done manually. Since the releasing and replacement operations would usually occur at intervals of several months or longer any reasonable amount of frictional resistance to free pivotal and other movement on part of the latch 30 would be of no practical significance.

I claim:

1. A spindle whorl retainer comprising a bifurcated bracket adapted to be rigidly attached to a spindle bolster case generally parallel to the rotational axis of the whorl and carrying a pivot pin extending transversely of said rotational axis, a whorl retainer latch member movably embraced by the arms of the bracket and having an elongated slot embracing the pin and extending generally parallel to the said axis, said latching member having an abutment normally overlying a portion of the whorl to prevent unlimited axial movement of the whorl away from the bolster case, said latching member being notched to provide a pair of spaced abutments normally lying on opposite sides of the bracket adjacent its bifurcation, the slot of the latch member being of sulficient length to enable the notch thereof to clear the bracket and permit pivotal movement of the latch member sufiicient to enable unlimited axial movement of the whorl in the indicated direction.

2. A retainer for a spindle blade and whorl assembly comprising a bracket and a latch, one of which includes an elongated slot, the bracket being adapted to be rigidly attached to a spindle bolster case, a pin pivotally mounting the latch on said bracket and extending through said slot to enable rectilinear movement of the latch into and out of a predetermined position on the bracket, said bracket and latch being adapted to lock said latch when in the said predetermined position against pivotal movement in two directions, the latch including abutment means disposed in the said predetermined position of the latch to block axial movement of a whorl toward a bolster case during the installation of a blade and whorl assembly into the bolster case and to prevent unlimited axial movement of an installed blade and whorl assembly away from a bolster case.

3. A retainer for a spindle blade and whorl assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the mass of said latch is arranged to cause said latch to drop into said predetermined position when released from a position displaced therefrom.

4. A retainer for a spindle blade and whorl assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein said elongated slot is in the latch. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A SPINDLE WHORL RETAINER COMPRISING A BIFURCATED BRACKET ADAPTED TO BE RIGIDLY ATTACHED TO A SPINDLE BOLSTER CASE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF THE WHORL AND CARRYING A PIVOT PIN EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID ROTATIONAL AXIS, A WHORL RETAINER LATCH MEMBER MOVABLY EMBRACED BY THE ARMS OF THE BRACKET AND HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT EMBRACING THE PIN AND EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE SAID AXIS, SAID LATCHING MEMBER HAVING AN ABUTMENT NORMALLY OVERLYING A PORTION OF THE WHORL TO PREVENT UNLIMITED AXIAL MOVEMENT OF THE WHORL AWAY FROM 